“Many women would be demanding marriage,” he said carefully.
She laughed then, a pleasurable trickle of sound that smoothed away some of the worry he felt. “It is just a kiss, my lord. You must calm any sense of duty you feel.”
At that, he grinned. “Am I right in believing that you are now telling me to shirk my duty?”
“Nonsense. This estate is your duty. Watching over and loving and protecting Louise is your duty. I am not your duty.”
He should be relieved. The uncomfortable pressure in his chest persisted, however. Patting his horse one last time, he gave the reins to a stable boy. “I will walk you back,” he told Henrietta.
They left the stables, stepping out into the afternoon’s muted sunlight. Summer heat had not yet arrived and a cool breeze brushed past them in welcome. His house, tall, imposing, waited ahead of them, its Elizabethan structure reminiscent of days past.
Henrietta walked with her head up, eyes forward. He soaked in the sight of her curved lips.
“You are happy,” he remarked.
“Yes, I was just thinking...”
“Of?” he prompted. Nosy, he knew, but he saw no reason not to pry.
Pink stained her cheeks and she kept walking. “I do not wish to upset you, but I opened the letter from my uncle.”
“I see. He wants you to join him.” His gut tightened as he awaited her response.
She shook her head. “Not quite.”
He laughed, but it was without mirth. “I fail to understand why you were smiling, then.”
“I should have opened the letter before we left London, but I am smiling because when he wrote it, he was preparing to leave for Bethlehem Hospital. They’ve a few cases they want his advice about.” She stopped, pivoting to look up at him. The sunlight hit her, highlighting the gold-streaked hair that peeked out from beneath her bonnet. Her lips were a soft pink, like the color of the sunrise on clouds.
“You are smiling because he shall be at the hospital?” He tried to collect his scattered thoughts, but it was hard to concentrate when she looked like this, alight and happy. No pretense of boredom that he’d seen so often affected by the women of the ton.
“Because he is near us.” Her dark eyes searched his face, begging him to understand. And he was trying, but remembrance of their kiss kept distracting him. “I have been saving to travel to Wales, but now he is only a two days’ trip back to London. If I leave soon...that is what I hoped to speak to you about.”
“Leaving?” His brain was mush.
“Yes, I can leave so much sooner. The funds I have been saving are more than enough to travel to London now.”
* * *
The expression on Dominic’s face increased Henrietta’s frustration. He looked blank, as though he didn’t understand what she was saying.
“I realize that I have not answered your generous offer. It is with some regret that I must decline a permanent position as governess.” The sun beat against the back of her neck, hot and unyielding.
Dominic’s gaze narrowed. The way the light hit his eyes made them glow like phosphorescent emeralds. She became aware of the sounds of bustling servants and whickering horses around them. Would they hear their conversation?
“It is not as though I do not appreciate all that you have done for me,” she said quickly, conscious of an uncomfortable ache in the pit of her stomach. “I have a week or so to prepare, and to give you time to hire a new governess.”
“Do you suppose that will be time enough for Louise to recover?”
“I am not abandoning her. She is welcome to visit while I’m in London. Perhaps she will want to write me, and we shall communicate that way.”
“Barbara wants to send her to a school on the Continent.”
“You will be able to find another governess before then.”
“You have not found a cure for what ails me?”
“I have some letters of inquiry out. Mr. Moore is also doing a spot of research for me.” She paused. “You must not let your illness keep you from caring for Louise. She needs you.”
“I will not,” he said roughly. “What if Old John makes it known—”
“No one is going to show up and cart you off to Bedlam,” she replied, but her stomach sank at the look on his face.
“Does your uncle know you’re coming?” His voice sounded as hard as the stone his eyes mimicked.
She resisted the urge to shift her feet, but the pain in her stomach deepened and spread. “No, I’m surprising him.”
“And if he turns you away?”
“He would not.” She bit her lip, hating the doubt blossoming inside. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t already considered it, but surely he would not turn her away. She couldn’t stay with Dominic any longer. After that kiss, a memory that corroded her thinking, her plans, she knew she had to leave.
Marriage had no place in her life and neither did romance.
Dominic uttered a hearty sigh, and she wished there were crinkles at his eyes. Something to show he wasn’t completely disappointed in her.
She squared her shoulders. And why should she care? She had only met the man two months ago.
“Henrietta...” Dominic paused, as though subjecting his next words to analysis. Completely unlike him. “This has nothing to do with the moment we shared, does it?”
“Of course not,” she said with a bit too much vehemence. She drew a strong breath, willing her pulse to slow and her hands to steady. “You hired me with the intent of steering Louise in the right direction while providing me the ability to follow my life goals. I never intended to become a governess for the duration of Louise’s school years.”
The sun’s heat created an almost unbearable burden. Her eyes burned and sweat trickled down her back. “I am not abandoning her and I am not running off because of a tiny little kiss.”
At that, his lips quirked into a harsh grin.
